DAME Helen Mirren leaped at the chance to tackle an action role, after growing sick of playing monarchs in period dramas.
The Oscar winner turns daredevil for her role alongside Nicolas Cage in National Treasure: Book of Secrets - and performed stunts including hanging in the air 100 feet above the ground.
Mirren tells the New York Post,"I can't go on being royal can I? I have to have a little sex, drugs and rock and roll in my acting life."